Prof Christopher Polk

This course is compulsory on the MSc in Finance (full-time), MSc in Finance (full-time) (Work Placement Pathway), MSc in Finance and Private Equity and MSc in Finance and Private Equity (Work Placement Pathway). This course is not available as an outside option to students on other programmes. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process. For information on controlled access courses, including eligibility, application processes, deadlines, and departmental contact details, please refer to the Controlled Access Courses webpage.

All students on a programme listed above will be given a place, as the course is not capped.

Please contact finance.teachingmanager@lse.ac.uk with any queries.

This course does not permit auditing students.

Co-requisites:

Either before taking this course, or in the same year as this course, students must complete:

(FM422 and FM423)

.

Asset management plays an important role in the economy – facilitating effective saving for retirement, making financial markets more efficient, and allocating capital to firms and entrepreneurs with valuable ideas. This course develops a deeper understanding of the key issues in asset management by integrating related material from throughout the MSc Finance (full-time) and MSc Finance and Private Equity programmes with the latest advances in relevant academic research and recent developments in global investing practice.

Thus, the course will not only study traditional topics in portfolio management (e.g., portfolio optimization, dynamic investment strategies, and measuring manager skill) but also broader issues in financial economics related to the asset management and financial services industry, in both public and private markets and in both equity and non-equity markets.
 

30 hours of lectures in the Spring Term.

This course is taught in an interactive format. There is no distinction between lectures and classes/seminars; there are simply “sessions” where the pedagogical approach is always interactive.

Case studies and homework assignments will help communicate and develop understanding of course concepts.

The course will rely on a blend of readings, lectures, cases, and discussions to study key issues in the asset management business and the broader financial services industry. Useful background references include

• Bodie, Kane, and Marcus, Investments, 12th Ed., McGraw Hill
• Elton, Gruber, Brown, and Goetzmann, Modern Portfolio Theory and Investment Analysis, 9th Ed., Blackwell’s
• Litterman, Modern Investment Management, John Wiley & Sons
• Ang, Asset Management: A Systematic Approach to Factor Investing, Oxford University Press
• Pedersen, Efficiently Inefficient: How Smart Money Invests and Market Prices Are Determined, Princeton University Press.

Continuous assessment (100%).